Joseph Beuys
(c)SABAM België, 2017 - Courtesy Viehof Collection
Cosmas und Damian
On a picture of the then brand-new World Trade Centre, a photo he bought during his first visit to the United States in 1974, Beuys wrote the words 'Cosmos' and 'Damian' on its towers respectively, referring to the early Christian saints Cosmas and Damian from modern-day Syria, later adopted as the patron saints of the Medici. In the 3rd century these twin brothers were active as wandering doctors. They are said to have performed the very first surgical transplant, which also had an intercultural and interreligious character: they for example, replaced the amputated leg of an Italian with that of a North African man. Beuys uses these patron saints of the medical professions, who were also so-called anargyroi (meaning 'silverless' or 'incorruptible') because they refused to accept money for their services, to subvert the symbol of American capitalism.
